Premier of the Chinese State Council Li Keqiang chaired the Executive Meeting of the State Council on February 14, deciding to conduct service trade innovation development trial, promote transformation of foreign trade and strengthen the competitiveness of the service industry.

The meeting holds expanding opening up is an important measure to bolster economic development and upgrading. In the complicated and severe situation of international economy, China should still stick to the promotion of opening up. While bolstering development of goods trade, China should also accelerate the development of service trade, so as to promote the optimization of foreign trade, cultivate new economic engine and drive employment.

The meeting decided to use 2 years to conduct service trade innovation development trial in 10 provinces and municipalities including Tianjin, Shanghai, Hainan, Shenzhen, Hangzhou, Wuhan, Guangzhou, Chengdu, Suzhou, Weihai and 5 national New Areas like Haerbin, Jiangbei, Liangjiang, Guian and Xixian. The emphasis is to explore system construction of trade service in 8 aspects including management system, development mode and facilitation and to expand admittance of liberalization of the service industry orderly. For these, we should strengthen related policy supports. Firstly, we will promote preferential tax policy for the enterprises with technology advanced service in the pilot areas, and expand the range of policy covered enterprises from service outsourcing to other high-tech and high value-added service industries. The corporate income tax paid by the enterprises would be reduced to 15%, and the personnel education expense not exceeding 8% of the total salary package would be deducted before being taxed. Secondly, we will set up the guidance fund of service trade innovation development. This intends to provide financial supports to the small and medium size enterprises in the pilot areas, and to provide finance discount to research and development designing, energy conservation and environment protection and environmental service urgently needed to import to China in the pilot areas. Thirdly, we will encourage financial organizations to innovate businesses like supply chain financing, and conduct bonded supervision on service outsourcing to the technology advanced service enterprises affirmed by the pilot areas.